The Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art on Saturday will kick off in Tokyo its biggest exhibition overseas with works by 32 artists including France's Raymond Depardon and American Nan Goldin.

The Paris-based foundation has amassed a major collection since it was set up by the luxury goods maker in 1984, boasting 1,500 works by 350 artists, some of which will be on show until July 2 at Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art.

But Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, a former novelist known for his blunt and nationalist remarks, took the opportunity to denigrate modern art.

Speaking at an inaugural function Thursday evening, Ishihara told the crowd of 2,000 people that contemporary art was "crap" and praised Japanese culture as better than that of the West, according to several witnesses.

Among the prominent works on display include Ron Mueck's "In Bed," a seven-meter (23-foot) long sculpture representing a woman lying down and fellow Australian Marc Newson's airplane made of aluminum and composite materials.

After Tokyo, the exhibition goes on to Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

"This is the first time in our history that we are showing such a vast exhibition from our collection" overseas, curator Helene Kelmachter told reporters. "The most outstanding works have been selected."

Depardon will show silent three- to five-minute films in which he walks alone through the world's great cities with a 16-millimeter camera rolling.

The 63-year-old former photojournalist said Tokyo remained at the top of his list of subjects.

"Tokyo is the world's most photogenic city as there are always new things," he said.

"It's an immensely rich city, one of the only ones where residents could just loaf about but nonetheless they don't," he said.

Depardon said it was also one of the easiest cities to work in.

"When Japanese women see me filming they would love to know why, but they seem to be held back by their customs from talking to a stranger on the street," he said.

In contrast, New York has become a much more difficult place to film.

"Cities change. New York used to be a very liberal city but it's been getting paranoid since the September 11, 2001 attacks," Depardon said.

"Twenty years ago, I was used to taking photos from a taxi," he said of New York. "Now it's hard. You can't even photograph bridges."

The government submitted a bill to the Diet Friday that will revise the Fundamental Law of Education for the first time since its enactment in 1947 to include fostering "patriotism."

Drafted during the Allied Occupation, the present law does not mention patriotism because the word was associated with Japan's wartime totalitarianism and militarism, according to scholars.

Conservative politicians have long sought to emphasize the concept in school curricula, but Japan "has been sensitive about patriotism, mainly due to memories of the (totalitarian) education before and during the war," said Hidenori Fujita, a professor at International Christian University in Tokyo.

"Patriotism" as stipulated in the bill, however, goes beyond the usual definition of love, loyalty and zealous support of a nation, by requiring people to cultivate "an attitude that respects tradition and culture, loves the nation and homeland that have fostered them, while respecting other countries and contributing to international peace and development."

Against a backdrop of problems at public schools, including bullying, truancy and a breakdown in classroom discipline, the ruling bloc has been pushing for a change in the so-called educational constitution for the past six years.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters that he hopes all the parties will have a productive discussion to get the bill passed by the end of the current session, scheduled for June 18.

"Times have changed over the past 60 years. That's why we are considering the importance of education again," Koizumi said.

While it remains unclear whether the bill will clear the Diet during the current session due to time constraints, experts say that if the amendments are enacted, they may have a profound affect on the public education system.

Kimiko Nezu, a teacher at Tachikawa No. 2 Junior High School in western Tokyo, said she could easily lose her job under the revised law.

"Refusing to rise to sing the national anthem (at school ceremonies) would be a violation of the law, so teachers like me could be fired," said Nezu, who has ignored instructions from the Tokyo metropolitan board of education requiring all teachers to stand and sing "Kimigayo" at school ceremonies since October 2003.

Nezu and 32 other metro-area public school teachers who refused to rise from their seats at graduation ceremonies in March were slapped with penalties ranging from pay cuts to three-month suspensions by the school board.

"This situation will likely spread to other regions in a few years once the revised law is enacted," she warned.

The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, agreed on the amendment bill earlier this month after lengthy debate. Its provisions also stress the importance of educating children at home and lifelong education.

Language dealing with religious education remains virtually unchanged in the bill. It stipulates that education must be tolerant toward religion, general religious knowledge and the status of religion in society. It also states that public schools must not teach any religious doctrine.

Still, the article with the new definition of patriotism remains the most contentious part of the bill.

If the bill is passed, other laws on education and academic guidelines for elementary and junior high schools are expected to be revised to incorporate its principles, education ministry officials say.

Although many educators are skeptical of the changes, such opposition is not universal. Seishiro Sugihara, a professor of education at Musashino University in Tokyo, said the legal revisions could improve public education.

"Patriotism has been mentioned in academic guidelines (for elementary and junior high school social studies) but (schools) have not emphasized it very much," he said. "With the revised law, however, (Japan) can nurture patriotism as other countries have done."

Sugihara said developing respect for the country and tradition may help children become more interested in society and increase their sense of right and wrong -- elements he believes schools have neglected.

Sugihara said he is disappointed the proposed changes do not stress the importance of religious education, because general religious knowledge could also help students develop peaceful views on the world.

Such arguments do not sway critics, who fear children may be coerced into patriotic displays and that this could affect how they are evaluated by teachers, said Hiroshi Nishihara, a professor of law at Waseda University.

"(Under the revised law), the state might decide what kinds of attitudes are 'patriotic.' If such a situation arises, it might try to force students to accept its judgments on other issues," he said. "Children would not be allowed to be critical" of the state, he added.

Although Nishihara voiced concern that the new law could revive the militant nationalism of the past, Musashino University's Sugihara called such fears "ridiculous" and said they were the legacy of a mind-set born under the Occupation.

For non-Japanese studying at public schools, the revisions may be difficult to accept.

Lim Young Ki, 29, a third-generation South Korean resident in Japan, said that although he thinks foreigners living here should feel an affinity toward the country, emphasizing patriotism at school may make foreign students uncomfortable.

OTTAWA, April 28, 2006 – Nominations are being sought for the seventh annual Justicia Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

The Justicia Awards recognize outstanding broadcast and print stories that foster public awareness and understanding of any aspect of the Canadian justice system, or the roles played by institutions and participants in the legal system. They are sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Commission of Canada and the Department of Justice Canada.

Two prize winners, one in each category, will be selected by an independent judging panel. The awards will be presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Bar Association in St. John’s, NL on August 12.

The deadline is June 2, 2006 for entries covering stories that were published or broadcast between May 16, 2005 and May 15th 2006. Entry forms may be obtained online at http://www.cba.org/cba/awards/justicia/ or by contacting Emily Porter, Canadian Bar Association, at 1-800-267-8860 ext. 155 ( emilyp@cba.org).

Last year, the prize for excellence in the print category was awarded to Shannon Rupp for her February 2005 feature “Duelling Rights” published in the Georgia Straight. The story looked at a case involving a transsexual who wants to be a volunteer counsellor in a women’s centre in Vancouver.

CBC News Canada Now/Newsworld was the winner in the broadcast category for its program “Crime on the Street,” produced by Scott Moore and Ian Hanomansing. This television program was broadcast March 31, 2005 live from the cells of a federal penal institution.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The editor of a new gay and lesbian travel guide to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia said Thursday he hopes the book will foster more acceptance of homosexuality -- which is outlawed in all three conservative Southeast Asian nations.

The "Utopia Guide to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia," launched last Friday, is the first such guide for the three countries, said Utopia Guides editor John Goss.

"We are simply shining a light on an aspect of society that exists in every country around the globe, but one that has been mostly in the shadows here in Asia," Goss told The Associated Press via e-mail from the Thai capital, Bangkok.

"I am hoping for positive repercussions (in the three countries)," Goss added. "The more that all aspects of human nature are discussed, the more at ease everyone becomes."

In majority-Muslim nations Indonesia and Malaysia, gay sex is punishable by jail. Islamic hard-liners in Jakarta have carried out their own raids on events considered un-Islamic and once attempted to shut down a transvestite beauty pageant.

Singapore also outlaws homosexuality, saying it violates conservative Asian norms, but prosecutions are rare in the city-state and Malaysia.

Goss said Bangkok-based Utopia was careful to market its US$28 guide as "a travel book," rather than a gay guide.

"As the cover only has gentle references to the subject matter, it should be able to be sold without fanfare in even very uptight places," he said.

He did not directly respond to a query on whether the book will be sold in the three nations featured.

Despite Malaysia's conservative stance on homosexuality, Utopia says it is has the "hottest gay scene going," based on surveys conducted from Singapore.

There are also hints on where to "cruise" -- to hook up with other gays -- and it lists enterprises owned by gays and lesbians. Massage and travel services are also highlighted, but venues fronting for prostitutes are not featured, he said.

"The intent of this particular guide, by grouping all these three countries together, is to encourage tourism and patronizing of gay-friendly businesses that are beginning to flourish in Southeast Asia," he said.

Utopia also prints gay and lesbian guides to China, Thailand, and one grouping Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

The book is sold through the company's Web site and can also be downloaded for around a quarter of the cost of a hard copy. (AP)